Spurs draftee Adam Hanga stays abroad

Spurs draftee Adam Hanga stays abroad

Spurs draftee Adam Hanga stays abroad

The San Antonio Spurs selected 6-foot-7 Hungarian Adam Hanga in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, but he may never play in the NBA.

Hanga, now 28 years old, recently signed a deal with Barcelona that keeps him under contract through 2020. This three-year deal would be worth $2.8 million per season in the United States, which is significantly more than the $815,000 veteran minimum in the NBA.

Source: Adam Hanga, Barcelona's monster €7.2M deal through 2020 includes a €1.5M NBA out if San Antonio Spurs want him stateside.

Last season, he was named the Best Defender in the Euroleague. However, if the Spurs decide to bring him to San Antonio, it won’t be cheap.

In addition to the likely requiem of offering significantly more than the veteran minimum for Hanga, they would also need to pay a buyout in his contract. According to David Pick, this is worth the equivalent of $1.76 million.

There are six players (Derrick White, Davis Bertans, Bryn Forbes, Dejounte Murray, Livio Jean-Charles and Brandon Paul) on the team’s roster who will not make that much next season.

Adam Hanga might just end up being one of those great European players that never crosses over to the NBA #Spurs

Of course, the $1.76 million would just cover a buyout to get him off the roster in Spain. It would not cover any of his NBA contract payment. As such, it seems unlikely Hanga will be playing for San Antonio in the near future.

It’s worth mentioning the player selected directly after Hanga in the 2011 NBA Draft was none other than Boston Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas.

Bryan Kalbrosky

Bryan is an NBA writer for HoopsHype and was the editor for USA TODAY SMG's Rams Wire blog. He has published with FOX Sports, Noisey, Bleacher Report, LA Weekly, Huffington Post and various other publications. bryan.kalbrosky@gmail.com.